The Impact News

Issue date: 10/31/05 Section: News

Media Credit: Armando Reyes WDFH is still on the air - but that may change next year due to budget restraints and differing philosophies between license owner Marc Sophos and the Mercy administration.

Media Credit: Armando Reyes Marc Sophos mentors WDFH intern Elise Jefferson.

Media Credit: Armando Reyes On-air personality Tom Jones sorts through his play list.

"Do we still have a radio station?" is how most Mercy College students respond when asked about WDFH. After nearly closing, WDFH, the radio station housed at the Dobbs Ferry campus,, is still on the air after it was given a six-month extension over the summer.
"I hope that there will be a future for WDFH here at Mercy College," said Marc Sophos, Founder of WDFH and Assistant Professor of Radio at Mercy. "The station is valuable to the whole college, even for students who are not of a Radio Production Major. The possibilities are endless."
WDFH (90.3) is a non profit community radio station of the lower Hudson River Valley, which airs from Mercy's Dobbs Ferry campus and provides students with internships and volunteer opportunities. The five-year initial contract between Mercy and WDFH, which is coming to and end, has been extended from Dec. 31to June 30, 2006, but there is a chance that there will be not be any renegotiations.
Sophos, who owns the WDFH license, stated that the alliance between the two parties has been in effect since the fall of 2001, but the station has only been on the air since the fall of 2003 because of delays in the building of the studio. Mercy hoped to increase enrollment with the addition of a licensed FM radio station where students could get a real radio industry experience. However, no surveys have been done to calculate if there was any correlation between the two.
While most schools have college radio stations that only serve the student body, Mercy is the only college in Westchester to have a professional and licensed FM radio station on campus that serves both the students and the community. This is an advantage that Sophos thinks Mercy could use to raise the numbers in enrollment if advertised correctly. "If Mercy's own students don't know about the radio station, then how are prospective students expected to know?" said Sophos with regard to the advertisement of the station.
"The program is not meeting the expenses and we are not at a time where we can afford to support its operating costs," said Dr. James Melville, Mercy's Provost. Melville pointed out that this is a marketing and economic issue, and at the present state Mercy cannot have the program be an offset. He confirmed that the cost of renovating the building to be radio-station suitable was $250,000, and that the average upkeep expense of the radio station was $40,000.
Melville explained that the radio station was given a six-month opportunity to meet its expenses. When asked about what improvements were needed in the next couple of months, Melville said he would like to see the program meet its expenses, increase numbers in enrollment, attract prospective students from high schools and community colleges, and raise the number of students performing radio internships.
Efforts have recently been made to advertise the radio program with the addition of the official WDFH website (www.wdfh.org) on Pipeline and an upcoming open house for students on Oct 5.
The radio station that has never truly had a steady residence is at a critical moment. The thousands of CDs and vinyl, turntables, microphones, and other radio widgets might have to find yet another home. If the contract is not renewed, then all of the equipment, all owned by Sophos, would take months to dismantle and unwire.
- For more information on WDFH and internship opportunities, visit www.wdfh.org
or email Marc Sophos, executive director. at marc@wdfh.org.

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